《乔布斯传》翻译笔记：我的地盘我做主

 第十一章中Mac项目还在进行，但作者的笔触更专注于乔布斯的个性特征。Mac团队成员Andy Hertzfeld评价乔布斯拥有现实扭曲力场（Reality distortion field），指乔布斯口若悬河的表述能力和过人的意志力，能够扭曲事实达成目标，形成混淆视听的惊人能力。在这样一个要求完美、敏感暴躁的人手底下动作，Mac团队的人似乎慢慢磨练出了一种跟乔布斯打交道的超强能力。1981年开始他们甚至设立了一个奖项：最能勇敢面对乔布斯的人（the person who did the best job of standing¹ up to him）。为乔布斯这样的人工作，你似乎只有两个选择：被他打击到崩溃，或是咬牙坚持熬过去，你会赢得他的尊重（to crush or to survive）。

【英语原文】

Was Jobs’s unfiltered behavior caused by a lack of emotional sensitivity? No. Almost the opposite. He was very emotionally attuned², able to read people and know their psychological strengths and vulnerabilities. He could stun³ an

unsuspecting victim with an emotional towel-snap, perfectly⁴ aimed. He intuitively knew when someone was faking it or truly knew something. This made him masterful at cajoling, stroking, persuading, flattering, and intimidating⁵ people. “He had the uncanny capacity to know exactly what your weak point is, know what will make you feel small, to make you cringe,” Joanna Hoffman said. “It’s a common trait in people who are charismatic and know how to manipulate people. Knowing that he can crush you makes you feel weakened and eager for his approval, so then he can elevate you and put you on a pedestal and own you.”(Chapter 11 The Reality Distortion Field : Playing by his Own Set of  Rules)

【译文】

乔布斯这种毫不掩饰的极端行为是因为他不够敏感吗？不，情况恰恰相反。他拥有超强的情感理解能力，能够读懂别人，看出他们心理优势和弱点。他能够在别人毫无防备的情况下，咬紧牙关一击即中，触及对方的内心最深处。他可以凭直觉看出一个人是在假装还是真的懂点什么，这种能力使他可以哄骗、安抚、劝服、奉承、胁迫别人，各种手段运用自如，玩弄于股掌中。“他有这样一种可怕的能力，能准确无误的知道你的弱点在哪儿，知道怎样能让你觉得自己渺小，知道怎样能让你退缩。” Mac 团队成员乔安娜·霍夫曼这样说道（照片中左起第二位，两届“最能勇敢面对乔布斯的人”奖得主）。“这是那些魅力非凡、懂得如何操纵别人的天才身上的共同特质。他可以打击摧毁你，让你内心变得很弱小，急切想要获得他的认可，然后他就会帮你扶摇直上，把你捧上天，然后完全拥有你。”

【翻译笔记】

1. sensitivity and vulnerability：

sensitivity 敏感性，灵敏度。对某种现象或某件食物很敏感，使用的是介词to。be sensitive to 对...很敏感。英国小说家简·奥斯汀的著名作品《理智与情感》的英文书名为Sense and Sensitivity。

vulnerability 脆弱性，弱点。be vulnerable to 表示易受...的伤害和攻击。vulnerability还有个很有趣的用法，我们在对电脑进行安全检测时的漏洞扫描即为 network vulnerability scanning.

But big changes are likely in higher education, which is more sensitive to market pressures. 但是，出于对市场压力的敏感，高等教育却可能出现较大的变革。

What needs to be done to diminish the region's continued vulnerability to external shocks? 需要采取什么措施，来减少该地区对外部冲击继续存在的脆弱性？

America, as the country most reliant on computers, is probably most vulnerable to cyber-attack. 美国是最依赖电脑的国家，自然也很可能最容易受到网络攻击的危害。

2. put sb. on a pedestal: 把某人捧上天，把某人当偶像崇拜。pedestal本意台座、基座的意思。

He put his wife on a pedestal and so was all the more hurt when he found she was capable of deceiving him. 他太宠妻子了，因此当他知道她是在欺骗他时，他受到的打击实在太大了。

China will shove Germany off its pedestal as the world's biggest exporter. 中国将会挤掉德国一举成为世界上的最大出口国。（off the pedestal：从最高的位置拉下来）

3. 乔布斯的世界观：

the reality distortion field：现实扭曲力场 （to change and defy reality, to con people into believing his vision 改变否认事实，说服别人相信他的观点）

binary way of categorizng things：非黑即白的思维模式 （people either enlightened or an asshole, their work either the best or totally shitty 别人要么是天才，要么是饭桶；他们的工作要么是杰作要么是垃圾）

乔布斯身上的明显特质：完美主义（perfectionism）敏感暴躁（petulance）吹毛求疵（ prickliness）

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 attuned   

v.使协调( attune的过去式和过去分词 )；调音

参考例句：

• She wasn't yet attuned to her baby's needs. 她还没有熟悉她宝宝的需要。
• Women attuned to sensitive men found Vincent Lord attractive. 偏爱敏感男子的女人，觉得文森特·洛德具有魅力。 来自辞典例句

3 stun   

vt.打昏，使昏迷，使震惊，使惊叹

参考例句：

• When they told me she had gone missing I was totally stunned.他们告诉我她不见了时，我当时完全惊呆了。
• Sam stood his ground and got a blow that stunned him.萨姆站在原地，被一下打昏了。

4 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

5 intimidating   

vt.恐吓，威胁( intimidate的现在分词)

参考例句：

• They were accused of intimidating people into voting for them. 他们被控胁迫选民投他们的票。
• This kind of questioning can be very intimidating to children. 这种问话的方式可能让孩子们非常害怕。